Automatic heat controller for radiators



Nov. 11 M524. 514,933

w. E. ROYS AUTOMATIC HEAT CONTROLLER FOR RADIATORS Filed May 28. 1923 jifil.

/0 D T Q 29 25 l4 /5 I B 25 IN VEN TOR TORNE Y Patented N ov. it, 192a,

warren sr'rss amen EA'tEN't orrics.

WILLIS E. BOYS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC HEAT CONTROLLER FOR RADIATORS.

Application filed Ha es, 1923. Serial No. 641,902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIS E. RoYs, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York cit borough of Brooklyn, in the county 0 Kings and State.of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Heat Controllers for Radiators, of which the following -is a specification.

This invention relates to house or other building-heating systems and has particular reference to heating apparatus employing steam or other hot fluid adapted for circulation through radiatorslocated inthe various rooms of the building. In the usual practice in the heating of buildings by steam for example, the amount or pressure of steam is regulated at the furnace or boiler by some kind of regulating means whose operation is initiated by the degree of pressure of the steam in the boiler and hence independent of the condition of the weather or the temperature of any of the rooms of the building. It has also been proposed and more or less extensively practised to reguautomatic cut-ofl for the heating system, such as steam, the regulating means being adjustable at each radiator by easily manipulatable means and easily understood so be obtained and maintained in each room of the building without affecting or disturbing the regulation of the temperature in any other room or at the heating plant.

With the foregoing and other objects in vention is to provide for each radiator an the neck 22 of the valve at its end remote from the valve by a bellows that any desired reasonable temperature may view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference 18 had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation showing diagrammatically the relation of my improvement to an ordinary steam radiator having inlet and return connections.

Fig. ,2 is a front elevation of the attachment.

Fig. 3is a vertical section. I Fig. 4 is a plan view showing especially the regulating gauge.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings I indicate a steam radiator 10 having an inlet pipe 11 and areturn pipe 12. In this connection itis'to be noted thatmy improvement is. readily applicable to any standard equipment of the kind just referred to. I

The improved automatic regulator includes a valve structure having a body 13 to which the inlet pipe 11 is connected at the top and having an elbow or coupling 14 of any suitable design at its bottom for connection through a nipple 15 with the radiator. Spanning body 13 is a valve seat 16 with which cooperates a valve 17 having a stem 18 on the inlet side around which is an expansion the interior of the valve spring 19 whose end remote from the valve is seated in a pocket 20 formed in the valve body. This spring serves to facilitate the opening of the valve. On the other side the valve has a stem 21 extendin freely through y and embraced structure 23 of any suitable flexible and elastic sheet material such as metal. This bellows is shown attached or. sealed at itsend adjacent to the neck '22 where it is attached and at its opposite end it is imperforate where it engages the end of the stem ,21 and through which the valve is forced to age or deterioration o :or toward its closed position against the force of the spring-19 aswell as the expansive forceof the bellows.

The automatic mechanism in addition to the parts just described includes a thermostat in the natureof a hollow wafer 24 filled with a suitable gas and having no openings or other features m-akin it possible for leakthe thermostat to take place. The thermostat is reinforced on opposite sides at its central portions by disks 25. It will be understood that the thermostat wafer is adapted to expand axially of said disks under a rise of temperature and also to contract at a lower temperature, whereby the thermostat is in effect thicker or thinner according to the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. This type of thermostat -is not only delicate in operation as to graduations but is thoroughly reliable 1 and durable inpractice. 4

.The thermostat is substantially surrounded by a casing constituting a guard and includmg a front shell 26 through the center of which at 27 is pivoted an adjustable arm 28 having a finger piece 29 extending through a diagonal or cam slotr30 in a gauge plate 31 secured rigidlyat the top of the casing as by screws 32 projecting into the metal back late 33 which is notched out at its upper si e at 34 to accommodate the valve connections. The lower portionor edge of the shell 26 is mounted tiltably upon a pair of tie rods or screws 35' tapped into bosses 36 formed on the plate 33 just described and through which screws. assemblage adjust-f ment of the thermostat is effected. It will thus be understood that the shell 26 has a certain amount of movement especiallyat its upfir portion toward and fromthe valve accor g to the operating adjustment of the finger piece 29 along the inclined or diagonal slot 30. For a higher temperature to be'maintained in the room the finger piece is moved toward the right and outward from the valve thereby increasing the effective space between the shell and the valve mechanism. Hence the wafer is compelled to expand to a greater extent before it effects the closin of the valve. The finger piece is provi ed with a lip 37 which engages down I over the edge or .rim portion 38 at the top of theshell- 26, and so with the swinging of the finger piece around its pivot 27 and gliding along the slot 30 the shell. is caused to tilt toward or from the'valve mechanism around the bearing points 39 at the anchor of the .room in which the structure is installed. Hence it is essential that, even though the thermostat is located relatively close to the radiator, it is neverthelesswell guarded or insulated-from the heat of the radiator or steam connections. This result is effected by providing a main disk 40'of wood. or other analogous insulating material which lies directly back of the thermostat and of a diameter sufliciently large to practically cover it. This disk 40 is imperforate tact with the bellows 23. Again, the valve body 13 and its extension 14 are always more or less hot because any direct association with the steam always comes at least as far as the valve. The valve body 13, however, is insulated from the thermostat not only because of the main disk 40 but also through the connections between the bellows and the neck 22. The lower portion of the valve body is attached by screws 43. and 44 to a metal plate 45 between which and the main back plate. 33 is interposed a disk 46 of insulation, the attachment between the plate 45 and the main plate 33 being effected metallically only through lag bolts 47 spaced from the metal connections at 43 and 44.

Within the space between the main back plate 33 and the inner hinge plate -41 are interposed a'plurality of sheet metal plates or dlsks 48 anchored in spaced relation to one another and to the inner surface of the back plate 33 bymeans of screws or rivets 49 each surrounded with insulation washers 50, thereby producing a succession of air gaps.

.With the foregoing specific description of the mechanism a detailed description of the operation is hardly necessary. When the parts are once installed as set forth any operator or individual in the room may simplyoperate the finger piece 29 along the slot 30 tillthe pointer thereof registers with a degree mark on the gauge plate 31 according to the temperature desired. This movement of the lever or finger piece is always easy and may be made irrespective of the previous position or temperature at the time of adjustment. That is to say if the room is hot, as warm as ever desired, and the heat is to be reduced, as at night, the lever still may be operated to the left to any desired lower temperature without material resistance, the

. automatical nature of the thermostat water being such that the gas. contained therein will simply have to be compressed slightly beyond the normal degree of compression, and the valve of course will be held closed thereby mo mentarily until the temperature of the room is reducedand the compression on the ther mostat is accordingly relieved down to the normal. called fool proof, because with all reasonable usage it can not get'out of order and neither can it be damaged by continued use or oft repeated adjustment. It will be noted also that there are no vents nor other possible places for leakage of the steam or con-- densation at any point in connection with the automatic attachment, assuming of course that the pipe connections at 11 and 15 are properly made, which is a simple or ordinary plumbers jo i I claim: p '1. The herein-described regulating means for-a fluid heat medium, the same comprising a pipe, :1; cut ofl mechanism including a' valve body having a seat, a valve co-operating with said seat, means tending y to lift the valve from its seat to allow the medium to pass, a thermostat of operationof the thermostat.

2. A pipe for conveying steam, automatic cut off mechanism in the steam pipe and including a valve body having a seat, a valve co-operating with said seat, spring means acting along the valve stem to move it in one direction, a thermostat responsive to the temperature of the room for acting upon the valve stem to move it in the opposite direction, said valve including a stem projecting from the valvebody and means 1nclosing the-end of'the valve stem to render that region of the valve non-leakable, said means being located between the thermostat and the end of the valve stem, "and an insulation plate locatedbetween said means and the thermostat. l

3. A pipe for conveying steam, automatic cut ofl mechanism in the steam pipe and in eluding a valvebody having a seat, a valve co-operating with said seat, spring means acting along the valve stem to move it in one direction, a thermostat responsive to the temperature of the room for acting upon the valve tem to move it in the opposite In other words, the device may be direction, heat insulating means being interposed between the thermostat and the valvemechanism in the form of spaced par allel plates to protect the thermostat from the heat at the region of the Valve mechanism, said insulating means including a plate of insulation covering the face of the. thermostat adjacent tothe valve mechanism through which the operation of the ther mostat is made effective to said valve mechanism, said insulation plate being mounted ,upon a hinged plate to allow free movement 5. A device as set forth in claim 4 in V which the thermostat consists of a hollow wafer and means is provided for holding it in position.

6. Mechanism asset forth in claim 4 in which the thermostat is a relatively thin member and a shell is provided on the remote side thereof from the plate of insula-v tion, and graduated means to adjust the shell toward or from the thermostat according to the desired temperature. v 7. A. device as set. forth in claim 4 in which a plurality of spaced metal plates are interposed in the space between the main metal plate and the plate of insulation providing air spaces of. insulation for additional protection of the thermostat from the direct radiated heat. 8. In automatic valve mechanism as set forth, the combination with a valve body and a valve therein, of a casing including a rigid metal plate secured to the valve body, a plate of insulation between the valve body and said metal .plate, a thermostat within the casing remote from the valve, a plate of insulation next to the thermostat and spaced from the metal plate aforesaid but movable toward. the valve body under expansion of the thermostat, a hinge connection between the plate of insulation and the metal plate, and a leak-proof packing embracing the valve mechanism adjacent to the plate of insulation last mentioned and through the operation of which the expansion of the thermostat is made eflective to act upon the valve.

9. A device; as set forth in claim 8 in which the casing includes a movable front shell embracing the thermostat, means connecting a portion of the shell loosely with the main portion of the casing, and finger means co-operatin with. another portion of the shell for gra uated adjustment of the device.

-10. The combination with a thermostat, of adjusting means therefor consisting of a pivoted shell coacting with the thermostat, an arm pivoted to said shell so as to be free to rotate thereupon, said arm carrying temperature indicating means and a casing embodying a calibrated diagonal slot wherein said arm is movable to cause the movement of said shell about its pivot to adjust the setting of'the thermostat.

In testimony whereof I aflix 111 Si nature. WILLIS g ROYS. 

